motivational speaker. Mandatory attendance. The twenty-first, the same day he was scheduled to speak in Vegas.
“The twenty-first?” Jerry mouthed to Nick. “Crap.”
Nick remained quiet, and Bongero abruptly ended the meeting. “Now get back to work! I don’t pay you to sit around a conference room and drink coffee!” He turned and stormed out.
“What a douchebag,” Jerry said. A chorus of laughs echoed from around the table.
“That’s Bongero for you,” said Nick. They walked back to Nick’s office and shut the door behind them. Bella knocked lightly and joined them.
“How are you going to break it to the head asshole that you can’t make his precious conference?”
“Call in sick?” Nick said.
“Call in sick?” asked Jerry. “On the day you’re asking for a billion, that’s with a ‘b,’ dollars?’
“So?”
“I already have a press release prepared for it. How are you going to pull that off? Someone’s going to do a story on this. Somebody had better do a story on this.”
“I have to think of something.”
“Why not say someone died?” asked Bella.
“That would work, except the speech is in Las Vegas.” “People die in Las Vegas.”
“You tell him, darling!” “Darling?”
“So?”
“And Bella, you call him, what?”
“Num-Nums.” Smiling, she blushed and turned her head toward Jerry.
“Num-Nums?” Nick repeated. “Really? Num-Nums?” “It’s because he’s so gosh-darn cute,” she said.
“Stop. I don’t want to know,” Nick said, raising his hands up.
“Look, all kidding aside, not a word of this to anyone.” “Yep,” said Jerry.
Bella gave the Girl Scout honor sign.
“You were a Girl Scout?” asked Jerry.
“I sold more cookies than anyone in my town.” “Is that so?” Jerry smiled.